As the new school year approaches, parents and kids alike are preparing for the transition from summer fun back to the classroom. This time of year offers a perfect opportunity to instill valuable life skills in your children—responsibility and preparation. Helping your kids develop these skills not only sets them up for success in school but also builds a strong foundation for their future endeavors.
Essential Life Skills
Responsibility and preparation are two of the most crucial skills for kids to have under their belt. They are not only important throughout their time in school, but during their future careers as well. Learning to be responsible will help children understand the importance of ownership and accountability, meanwhile preparation works to make sure they are always ready for whatever challenges and obstacles may stand in their way. Here are three practical ways you can support your children in getting ready to go back to school by focusing on responsibility and preparation:
- Visual Checklists. A great starting point for developing responsibility and preparation is making visual checklists that kids can use to ensure they are ready for each day. For school, have your child write down a list of all the things they need to pack in their backpacks in order to be prepared for class, including notebooks, folders, books and textbooks, writing utensils, homework, etc. Each morning before leaving for school, have your child use the checklist to pack their bags accordingly. Encourage them to double check their lists to make sure they have everything they need. Checklists can also be made for various other regular activities, like recreation sports or friendly sleepovers.
- Encourage Ownership. Another helpful strategy is to encourage children to take ownership over their various responsibilities. Whether it be homework, chores, or other menial tasks, learning to be accountable for these things can help kids develop not only responsibility, but leadership as well. Assign age-appropriate tasks for your child, and have them practice taking care of them on a regular basis by offering incentives to motivate their independence. As they pick up the habit of doing these tasks themselves, progressively add more challenging tasks. When kids take ownership over their responsibilities, it leads to a greater sense of purpose, and builds confidence and self-esteem as well.
- Create a Homework and Study Space. Lastly, one of the best ways to help a child build responsibility and preparation is by setting up an area that is only to be used for homework, studying, and other productive projects. Naturally, humans are creatures of habit, and we tend to link behaviors and moods to different environments. Ever start to drift off to sleep when you lie down in bed and your head hits the pillow? Similar to how we link sleeping to our bedrooms, kids can learn to link productivity to a dedicated work space. Choose a specific area with minimal distractions that is suitable for working, like a home study or office, and have your child do their homework and studying there. This habit will condition kids to work productively and efficiently when in that area.
Relating to Martial Arts
Training in martial arts is an excellent way for kids to develop responsibility and preparation skills. In martial arts classes, students are taught to respect their instructors, peers, and the training floors, which fosters a sense of responsibility. They learn the importance of being prepared—whether it’s remembering their uniform, practicing techniques, or bringing the necessary equipment for sparring. This consistent practice of responsibility and preparation in a structured environment helps children build these critical life skills, which translate into other areas like school and home life, ensuring they grow into disciplined and self-reliant individuals.
Try it at Home!
In addition to the helpful tips listed above, the following game can help kids get extra practice with responsibility and preparation, especially in the aspect of cleaning up. Here’s how you can do it:
- Name of the drill: Tornado Cleanup
- What you need: Yourself (parent), your child, materials to make a light mess with, and a timer
- How it works:
- To start, pick out a few materials to make a small mess with. We recommend solid objects that won’t break, spill, or otherwise require any involved cleanup. Consider items like books, toys, game pieces, writing utensils, and other things you might find in your living room or child’s bedroom.
- Take the items you’ve gathered, and make a light mess by scattering them across the room, in places they don’t belong. Be careful and controlled, because the goal is not to make a mess that can’t be cleaned easily.
- Next, agree upon the amount of time your child will have to put everything away neatly, depending on the amount of items, size of the mess, and area of the room. We recommend starting with longer timeframes, and shortening it each time you do it.
- Before the timer starts, encourage your kid to walk through the mess, eyeing all the items they will need to put away, and thinking about where those items will need to go.
- Finally, announce the start of the timer to your child, and have them race against the clock to clean everything up neatly. Make sure your child keeps the items organized by putting them back properly, and not just haphazardly throwing things in the approximate area where they belong.
- At the end, assess the job your child did, and give them a grade. If you want them to keep improving with their cleaning-up skills, repeat the drill multiple times and reduce the amount of time they are given. Additionally, if your child does well with cleaning up, consider having them be the one to scatter the mess at the beginning.
This drill is a great way for kids to practice responsibility, and allows them to do what they do best– making a mess! However, the more important aspect of this drill is learning to clean up after themselves, another crucial skill for kids to develop.
In Conclusion
In Summary, responsibility and preparation are two quintessential skills to help kids as they grow into successful young adults ready to conquer any challenge they face. Through creating checklists, taking ownership over tasks, and dedicating an area for productivity, parents can watch their children blossom into talented and hard-working leaders. Additionally, practicing Martial Arts acts as a supplement for even more practice with these life skills. The more we help our kids to practice responsibility and preparation, the more they develop a confident outlook on life and its many challenges. Try these tips and drills at home, and see what a positive impact they can make in the life of your loved ones!